Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga

Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga is the firstborn child of Dionisio Gutiérrez Sr. and Esperanza Mayorga.

His grandfather, Juan Bautista Gutiérrez, was the founder of CMI, Corporación Multi Inversiones, S.A. that currently has more than 40,000 workers. In the decade of the 1920s, Juan Bautista Gutiérrez opened a small shop in San Cristóbal Totonicapán, in the Western highlands of Guatemala.  In 1936 he established Molino Excelsior and, in 1965, he started poultry operations with the purchase of Granja Villalobos.  In the decade of the 1970s, at the suggestion of his son, Dionisio Gutiérrez, Sr., he went into the fried chicken business, and started Pollo Campero. CMI has diversified and expanded to different types of industries like the wheat and corn milling industry, the production of pasta and cookies, the poultry and pork industries, restaurants, finances, energy, real estate and other. CMI is in constant adaptation to market trends. Pain and misfortune hit the Gutiérrez family on

October 4, 1974. The small airplane flown by Dionisio Gutiérrez, Sr. and Alfonso Bosch, which was headed for Honduras to provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Fifi, fell to the ground close to San José Pinula, and both members of the family lost their lives.

With the loss of his father in 1974, significant changes came to the lives of the Gutiérrez family. Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga completed his college education in 1977. However, the plan to further his education in the United States was cancelled and the decision was made for him to join CMI’s Toledo Sausage Manufacturing Plant.  

When he became 23, he was offered the position as manager of the then small chain of restaurants called Pollo Campero.  Pollo Campero was deemed to have reached its maturity and his task was to maintain the chain. However, that was not how Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga visualized the business. He saw huge growth potential for the fried chicken chain now under his leadership.

With his business discipline plus the desire and need to become better acquainted with the restaurant business, Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga decided to become involved in every internal process in Pollo Campero. He performed several roles, such as frying the chicken, serving customers and as cashier. These activities gave him a clearer picture of what the business was at the time and what it could become.  

In 1982, at only 23, Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga became the manager of Pollo Campero.[1]  His experience at that point came from the meat industry. In 1982, Pollo Campero was not a restaurant chain yet, but rather a series of diners with 14 points of sale in Guatemala and 5 others in El Salvador.  Pollo Campero was still part of the poultry business area of the corporation and operated as a vertical business that eliminated intermediaries and reached the consumer directly.[2][3]

Growing the business would require more than financial investment. The challenge involved a change of mindset and of image. It was necessary to make the transformation, from the cafeteria concept with a limited menu, to a growing chain of restaurants.

Pollo Campero opened its first restaurant in Coral Way, Miami in 1986. The operation lasted only one year. This apparent failure was an opportunity for Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga to learn what it really takes to make a restaurant chain grow internationally. The lessons learned rendered their fruit four years later. In 1990, the growth process in Central America became evident, with approximately 10 restaurants opening each year since 1988, in Guatemala and El Salvador.

The franchise  model started in the second half of the 1990s. The Pollo Campero brand became positioned in Panamá, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Costa Rica, with 51% of the shares, but with a continued effort to further grow the franchise model.

In 2002, Pollo Campero was introduced in Los Angeles California.  By 2005, Pollo Campero had 196 restaurants in 9 countries; 22 of the restaurants were located in El Salvador and in some of the largest US cities, such as Los Angeles, Washington, Dallas, and Houston.  In 2006, Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga and the Pollo Campero team opened the first Pollo Campero restaurant in Spain.[4]

In 1995 Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga was the President[5] of the Guatemalan Chamber of Industry.  On May 16, 1995, during the night, he was the victim of a planned attack to kill him. It is believed that a group of around 10 armed people opened fire against the car he rode in.  It was seriously damaged by the bullets, but thanks to the armoring, he was unharmed.[6][7]

Given the magnitude of the attack and its implications for civil society, Carlos Enrique Reynoso, Ministry of the Interior, rushed to the crime scene.  Even the President of Guatemala at the time, Ramiro De León, condemned the attack through an official statement.

Several institutions demanded an investigation and condemned the attack against Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga.  These included: Cámara de Industria (Chamber of Industry), Cámara de Periodismo de Guatemala (Chamber of Journalism), Federación de Cámaras y Asociaciones Industriales Centroamericanas (Central American Federation of Industrial Chambers and Associations), Gremial de Exportadores de Productos No Tradicionales (Exporters’ Association), Asociación Nacional del Café (Coffee National Association), Cámara de Finanzas de Guatemala (Chamber of Finances), Cámara de Comercio de Guatemala (Chamber of Commerce), Central General de Trabajadores de Guatemala (Workers’ Association), Asociación de Azucareros de Guatemala (Sugar Producers’ Association), Cámara del Agro de Guatemala (Chamber of Agriculture), among others.

Army intelligence sources informed that Alfredo Moreno Molina, alleged drug lord, could have been behind the attack against Juan José Gutiérrez.  Investigators seized Moreno files revealing schedules, displacements, and mentions of Gutiérrez.                                                   

Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga became CMIs President-Chairman in 2011, celebrating the legacy of 340 restaurants in 10 countries, including the United States, Spain, Italy and others. Since then, Juan José leads the business growth and expansion strategies for the Corporation. In 2018 he was appointed President-Chairman of CMI Food.

Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga is also the Director of Procesadora Nacional de Alimentos (PRONACA) after a purchase-sale agreement was signed with CMI, with Juan José already the President-Chairman of CMI Food.

In 1990, CMI started the process of diversifying its poultry and pork industries, the production of sausages, balanced food for animals and pets, among others. A great human team has joined in the effort to help develop PRONACA and make a contribution to good food and social wellbeing.

In 1995 Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga was the President of the Chamber of Industry of Guatemala. In the evening of May 16, 1995, he suffered an attack. It is believed that it was a group of around 10 armed individuals that opened fire against his vehicle, which was seriously damaged by the large number of bullets it took. The armoring in the vehicle saved the life of Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga.

Because of the significance of the attack, and the negative effect it could have on civil society, the then Minister of the Interior, Carlos Enrique Reynoso, arrived at the crime scene, and the Guatemalan President, Ramiro De León, condemned the attack through an official release.

Several organizations requested an investigation of the crime and condemned the attack against Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga. Some of these organizations were the Chamber of Industry, the Chamber of Journalism of Guatemala, the Federation of Central American Chambers and Industrial Associations, the Association of Exporters of non-Traditional Products, the National Coffee Association, the Chamber of Finances of Guatemala, the Chamber of Commerce of Guatemala, the Guatemalan Workers’ Union, the Sugar Association of Guatemala, the Chamber of Agriculture of Guatemala, and others.

Guatemalan Army Intelligence sources reported that the alleged drug trafficker Alfredo Moreno Molina may have been involved in the attacks against Juan José Gutiérrez.  Investigators stated that documents seized from the drug trafficker revealed control of the hours he kept, his movements and the mention of Gutierrez’ name.

Between 1990-1995, Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga was chair of mité de Asociaciones Agrícolas Comerciales y Financieras – CACIF – (the private sector’s most important organization); chair of the Cámara de Industria de Guatemala – CIG – (Chamber of Industry); chair of Federación de Cámaras de Industria de Centroamérica – FECAICA – (Federation of Industry Chambers of Central America); and chair of Federación de Asociaciones del Sector Privado en Centroamérica y El Caribe – FEDEPRICAP – (regional private sector association).

Juan José Gutiérrez Mayorga is also President of Juan Bautista Gutiérrez Foundation, the social branch of CMI that supports projects focusing specially in Education and Health.

As the President of Juan Bautista Gutiérrez Foundation, Juan José Gutiérrez participates in various programs, outstanding among which are:

• University-level Scholarship Program, from which more than 165 professionals have graduated in different disciplines.159 young persons are in the 2021 program. Every year, 50 new scholarships are awarded.
• Mi Salud…Mi Responsabilidad Health Program that has trained over 145,000 youths and 10,000 teachers between2008 and 2020.
• Nutrition Program that promotes the reduction of current chronic malnutrition levels and alternative sources of income for women through community undertakings in San Cristóbal, Totonicapán, Guatemala. More than 3,500 families have benefitted from these efforts.